BLACKBURN, Horace Samuel
| Service Number: | 3657 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 55th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Newtown (NSW), Inner West, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 20 July 1916, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
VC Corner Cemetery and Memorial, Fromelles, France VC Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial, Fromelles, Lille, Nord Pas de Calais, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3657, 17th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3657, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Sydney | |
| 20 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 3657, 55th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3657 awm_unit: 55th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-07-20 | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement 55th Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix) |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Horace Samuel BLACKBURN (Service Number 3657) was born on 13 September 1893 at Newtown. He began employment with the Tramways in Sydney as an office lad in 1910, becoming a junior clerk in 1911 and an adult clerk in September 1915, though by that date he had been released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces. Unusually for a young man enlisting in the AIF he was married, to Essie.
Embarked from Sydney, HMAT ‘Aeneas’ 20 December 1915, he travelled to Egypt where he was taken on the strength of the 55th Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir. He left Egypt through Alexandria and travelled to Marseilles on 19 June 1916, and to the battlefields of France where he became missing in action only three weeks later. It was to be a year before a Court of Enquiry ruled that he had been killed in action on 20 July 1916.
Another soldier, Lance Corporal C.S. Watson reported: -
‘Blackburn, called Harry, was in D Company and was killed on July 19th at Bois Grenier. Our Division was in it and the 55th were on fatigue, carrying ammunition, etc. I saw Blackburn lying dead in the trench, and afterwards I saw his grave at Sailly, in the Cemetery on the right-hand side of the road going from Sailly to Estaires.’
Like many next of kin Essie clutched at straws to believe that he husband was still alive. She wrote: -
‘126 Lord Street
Newtown
9.7.17
Sydney
The Officer in Charge,
Dear Sir,
I have received a parcel containing my husband personal effects. If these articles have been found, how is it that he is still reported (missing) for if these were found you must have his disc. I think myself that he must be alive.
It is very unsatisfactory for me to receive the above. I thought these would be returned when the soldier was killed or died, but he is still posted as missing. I would be very grateful to you if you could inform me how they came by the articles as he must have carried them on him. Hoping you will answer this at your earliest opportunity,
I remain yours faithfully,
Essie Blackburn’
Essie had written earlier in December 1916, advancing her belief that Harry was a prisoner-of-war. In this letter she pleaded for the matter to be resolved ‘to relieve me of the awful anxiety and uncertainty and for the sake of our little one….’
He is commemorated at VC Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial, Fromelles, Lille. Nord Pas de Calais
(NAA B2455-3088077)
Submitted 11 May 2023 by John Oakes